The Ninth Cohort
by C0UNT K1NGP3N
Summary: The Butterfly Effect. With the change of one thing, massive differences come into fruition. And with these changes, the Shinobi World as it is known will change drastically. AU, Pairings TBA. Some Violence, Language, Adult Themes (ish), etc. Starts rate T, becomes M later in story.
1. What Came First

**I DON'T OWN NARUTO.**

A/N: So this is the Prologue a few readers recommended. I hope it lives up to the rest of the story. It is a bit all over the place, but I digress. I was not originally planning to have a prologue, so if it doesn't flow quite properly send me a PM about ways I might be able to fix it and I will try to bring it up to snuff. Just as with before, there are some minor and major divergences from canon here, and if anyone wants me to explain them more I can. One thing I will bring to light as I have not mentioned it yet is that the Uchiha Clan Downfall has _**NOT**_ happened yet. My version of it will happen in one of the next few chapters. Also, the Hyūga Hyuuga

"Blah" _ Talking

" _Blah"_ -Thinking

" **Blah"** \- Jutsu/ Demon Speak

" _ **Blah"**_ \- Demon thoughts

"Blah" – Monikers (i.e. Sharingan no Kakashi)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~October 10th, Just after the Kyuubi attacks~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"MINATO-KUN! DON'T YOU DARE USE THAT SEAL!" As he wailed from his place outside Kushina's barrier, one Jiraiya of the Sannin pounded against the barrier of chains.

Looking back with anguish clearly on his face and tears running down his face, Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage of Konohagakure, merely runs through hand seals to summon a small ceremonial throne on which he lays a small baby… his child… and turns toward his wife, standing next to him. "Kushina-chan… I love you."

"Minato-kun…" Her tears slowly stopped flowing as she stands next to her husband, and began flipping through hand seals of her own. **"Hakke Fuin!"** (1)

Creating the basic seal necessary for her son to live through what was about to happen, she turns to her husband and simply nodded, and he nods back. They both rapidly flip through the same set of handseals, and both end by clapping their hands together. **"Shiki Fujin!"** (2)

On the outside of the barrier, Sarutobi Hiruzen's old gaze widened a great deal as he felt the air grow cold, and sensed some great power near him, yet he could not see a difference.

" **GRRAAAAAWWWWWWWW! I WILL NOT BE SEALED AGAIN!"** Thrashing wildly against the chains that made up the barrier that restrained him, Kurama, more widely known as the Kyuubi no Yoko, roared, and reached towards the two insolent humans before he froze, and looked right behind them. **"No…. It can't be!"** Thrashing more, he saw the two humans stumble before 2 ghostly arms latched onto the Kyuubi, and _**pulled.**_ And Kyuubi did fight the pull, until he was being condensed into what appeared like a sphere and shoved into the pre-prepared **Hakke Fuin** , and with a final shove, the Kyuubi no Yoko was finally sealed within the small, screaming body of Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto. And the Shinigami, summoned by the combined efforts of Uzumaki Kushina and Namikaze Minato, smiled to itself, and took the knife from his mouth, he severed the summoner's souls.

"Naru-chan…" Having lost her ability to hold the barrier, Kushina collapsed to her knees… "I… have a gift… for you." Flipping through 3 quick seals, she places a single hand over Naruto's little heart. **"Iden-Teki Fuin: Kettō no kopī" (3)**

"There you go baby… a little piece of Mommy will always be with you!" And as she removes her hands, the barrier that had fallen suddenly reappears brighter than ever before and then began being drawn to this new seal, before her chains that made up the barrier become a part of her baby-boy.

"Sarutobi!" Using the last of his strength, Minato looked to his predecessor. "Make sure… the village knows… My son is a Hero!"

And with their final messages delivered, Konoha's Akai Chiso no Habanero (4), and the Konoha no Kiiroi Senkō (5) left this world, their souls taken by the Shinigami.

"Damnit Minato! I am too old for this!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~6 Years and 3 months later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As the Hokage walked into one of the civilian owned restaurants that populated some of the Market District of Konohagakure, he smiled to himself. Reminiscing about the more recent years of his Village's history, he then walks right into a scene that makes his blood boil.

"Get out you little brat, your presence is breaking my 'No Demon's' policy. So GET OUT!" Stepping aside at the last second the Hokage was able to dodge the flying orange blur that was thrown out of the restaurant. And rather than just pass along like most people, he turned to the man who threw the boy out, and blasts him with a very heavy dose of Killing Intent. "Anbu, this man broke the law, please show everyone here what happens to those I catch doing so!"

Everyone watched as an Anbu appears to the right of the Hokage, and then disappeared and reappeared behind the man, and with a soft click that seemed to echo through the building, the man's head fell to land at his own feet, the cut that caused this to happen cauterized already by the fire chakra that was channeled through the killing blade (Not that the civvies knew that).

"Thank you." Blasting all inside with more of his Intent, the Sandaime merely smiles "Now, everyone here understands, right?"

With unanimous head nodding, the Hokage turns around and walks out, and seeing the little boy that was just kicked out, he walks over and helps him to his feet. "Hello litt- Naruto-kun! What are you doing? Shouldn't you be at the Orphanage?"

"They kicked me out Jiji! They said I was ruining their reputamation, or something like that…." Naruto lowers his head, slowly turning around to go hide as he always does.

Hiruzen hid his fury, motioning to one of his hidden Anbu, and using the Anbu Sign-Language, he messages: "Investigate, Arrest, and I.T."

Without waiting for his operative to disappear, he turned back to Naruto. "Now hold on a minute Naruto-kun, I am betting you are hungry right?" Smiling to himself, Hiruzen grabs Naruto's little hand, and starts walking him to a small stand on a side road in between the Residential and Market districts. "Let me show you this wonderful little restaurant. They just opened a few weeks ago."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Moments later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Pushing the small curtains aside, Hiruzen walks Naruto into a small Ramen Bar, known as Ichiraku's.

"Welcome to Ichi- Oh! Hokage-sama! What an honor it is that you have graced our small stand with your presence!" The speaker, a smiling older gentleman, and his adolescent daughter bow quickly, before standing up and motioning to the menu behind the counter. "How may we serve you and your little friend? First bowl will be on the house sir."

Smiling, Hiruzen nods. "No, don't worry about it! No need for preferential treatment simply because of my position."

His daughter, who introduced herself as Ayame, nodded to her father. "What Teuchi-jiji forgot to mention is that a free bowl is the regular treat for new customers."

"Well then, I won't complain. I believe Naruto-kun and I shall both have a bowl of Miso Ramen. Is that alright Naruto?"

Having been salivating at the delicious smells wafting throughout the stand, Naruto jerks his attention back to the Sandaime. "Uh… Sure, I don't mind…"

Teuchi notices his hesitation, and then examines the small boy. _"Orphan, from the looks of things, definitely malnourished, and from the looks of it is actually homeless, and isn't living in the orphanage. I must ask Hokage-sama what I can do to help him in this situation."_ Teuchi smiles "Coming right up. Ayame, why don't you show little Naruto-kun around the stand and the kitchen, I wish to speak to Hokage-sama alone for a moment."

"Of course Father. Naru-chan, follow me I will show you around." Smiling, she takes his hand, and motions for him to follow her.

"Y-you won't throw me out, r-right?" Stuttering in worry, Naruto averts his eyes, kicking the ground in embarrassment.

Ayame, now aghast with disgust at the idea, wraps the small boy in a soft hug, ignoring his sudden stiffening. "Of course not Naru-chan! I would never throw out such a sweet little boy. Now, let's go ok?"

Smiling brightly, he nods. "Okay Ayame-nee-chan!"

Watching as Ayame shows the little boy around, Teuchi turns to the Sandaime "Why does the Sandaime Hokage care enough about one random street orphan enough to bring them to a restaurant and get them lunch? I am not complaining about him, as I can see that he is in need of food and nurturing. But what makes him so special?"

"You weren't in the village six years ago, so I can't give you exact details. He is blamed and ostracized for something he can't control because of something that happened on his birthday." Clasping his hands, and resting his elbows on the edge of the bar, he looks pointedly at the owner of the stand. "Will this affect how you treat him in any way?"

"Yes."

His eyes hardening to a harsh glare, Hiruzen merely sighs. "How so?"

"I will provide him my food at a lower price, and if it is necessary, I will give him more nourishing foods than simply ramen. We had some orphans and others in situations like Naruto's back in the Land of the Great River. I did the same for them. I am willing to even offer him and others like him a home and even some money to help them get by. Not what you were expecting me to say, now was it?" Smiling warmly, Teuchi pulls out a small picture. "This is Ayame, when we first met. She was an orphan, the only survivor from a village that was razed to the ground. And as such, she was ostracized by the village she was taken to, like some form of cursed child. So, I took her in. This had the aftereffect that my business in that town started failing, and so we moved here. All I ask is that if my business does suffer here do to my backing of Naruto or others like him, that you find a way through the law to help me, or simply by sending a stipend of some kind. That way, I can continue to help the orphans here. Also, if you'd be willing to send me a list or maybe you can bring in some of the other orphans so I can know who I am helping, and let them know they have someone who is helping them. Are these requests acceptable?"

"I am more than willing to do as you have requested. However, adoption of Naruto or others is out of the question. I have a plan for that already, but I will ask: How would you like to be the owner of an apartment building for orphans, funded by yours truly?"

"Hokage-sama, it would be my honor. So, on to your lunch! Ayame! Bring back the guest of honor, I am about to get started on the food!"

"Yes Father!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~6 months later, at the newly opened Apartment Complex~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Teuchi and Ayame stand in front of their recently renovated and refurbished 4 story apartment building, with 4 young children crowding around them. "This building is to be your home, but remember: if you need help, we are always willing to help. And I know you all know where to find us!"

And the chorus of orphans merely cheer in response, with a blonde prankster cheering the loudest from the back, standing next to a taller black haired boy with MASSIVE eyebrows, who was cheering nearly as loud.

Having finished the opening ceremony, Teuchi begins divvying up the rooms. Motioning to the two boys in the back, he points up to the top floor. "Alright Lee-kun, you get the room on the right, and Naruto-kun, you get the one on the left." Pointing to the floor right below that, Ayame motions to the other boy, this one almost as tall as Naruto and will long silver hair. "Shin-kun, the left room of the third floor is yours. And lastly, Matsuri-chan, you get the right room of the second floor. And boys, all of you will not bother her right?"

"Yes, Teuchi-jiji!"

"Alright, Teuchi-jiji and myself will check up on you soon, don't get into too much trouble. Shin, as the oldest I expect you to be a leader here, alright?"

Shin nods happily "Yes Ayame-nee-chan!"

"Oh, and before Ayame-chan and I forget, Happy Birthday Naruto!"

"You remembered!"

Ayame points to a thing behind Naruto. "And so did they!"

Naruto turns, and sees Sarutobi Hiruzen standing there, along with another older man only Naruto recognized. "Hogake-jiji! Jiho-jiji! You all remembered!"

Jiho, the head medical officer in Konoha, and an old friend of Hiruzen's, smirked good naturedly. "Of course you little gaki, wouldn't miss it for the world!"

"You all make sure Naruto has a great seventh birthday, ok?"

"Yes Hokage-jiji/ Hokage-sama!"

Hiruzen looks down at Naruto. "So my boy, would you like to go to see some jutsu demonstrations from myself and my Anbu?"

"YEAAAHAHHHH!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~3 years later, Hokage's Office~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*knock knock*

Setting his pen down, Hiruzen glares at the massive pile of paperwork still crowding the desk, before looking towards the door. "Come in!"

A rather nondescript Jōnin walks in with only one adolescent walking with him, however, this young male also had a bandaged stump where 3 of his right fingers used to be "Team 14 reporting a mission success sir… however… We are all that is left."

Sighing in great despair, Hiruzen's heart sank. "Go and get checked out in the hospital, but first I wish to see the mission report."

Nodding slowly, the Jōnin hands over the scroll before ushering his only remaining student out of the office.

Softly mumbling to himself, Hiruzen opens and reads the report. "This was a simple bandit eradication mission. Such a mission should be easy work for a Genin squad that was accompanied by a Jōnin even a rookie one like Team 14."

Running through the records of the 3 Genin and the curriculum of the Academy, Hiruzen was appalled at the horrid level of rigor that the Academy thought was "passable", and how the Genin of Team 14 were supposedly near the top of their class.

"I am not going to let any more of my soldiers be so shoddy. The Jōnin sensei's job is not to "pick up the slack" that the Academy leaves… They are to teach the Genin to advance, not to catch up. What to do… What to do…"

Thinking to himself, Hiruzen's heart hardened as he came to a final decision. "I will not sit by and let the council's decision ruin my forces. It is time to remind them that I Am the Kami no Shinobi! I am The Sandaime Hokage, the leader of this village. And my decision on this matter is final!"

Smirking to himself, Hiruzen motions to 3 of his hidden Anbu. "Tori. Inu. Ratto. Summon the council. I have an announcement."

~~~~~~End~~~~~~

 **Eight Symbols Seal**

 **Dead Demon Consuming Seal**

 **Genetic Sealing: Bloodline Copy** (Own Creation) –Basically, by sealing one's own bloodline in a direct descendent with this seal, the direct descendent will have the bloodline 100% of the time, with the sealed bit being filtered into their own system and adapting their body at a genetic level to naturally have the bloodline. (Uzumaki Hiden Sealing Style)

 **Red Hot-Blooded Habanero**

 **Yellow Flash of Konoha**

And Cut! Here is the prologue that was recommended. I will be going into the academy time next chapter, and I will be adding my own slight twists to some events that happen, I.E the Uchiha Clan Downfall, the Graduation Exam and The Mizuki Incident. I am going to guess the Academy/ Pre-graduation arc will take up 2, maybe 3 more chapters unless I add some more details and stuff like that. If you all have an event you want to happen or one you'd like me to explain, I am always willing to answer.

Blood Out!


	2. So it Begins

**The Ninth Cohort**

 **Summary:** The Butterfly Effect. With the change of one thing, massive differences come into fruition. And with these changes, the Shinobi World as it is known will change drastically.

 **I don't own Naruto. Sadly.**

 **PLEASE READ THE A/N!**

AN: The are going to be some big changes in this story as when compared to canon. One that I am going to mention now is that the Ninja Academy is more Ninja! and less Academy. Also, Genin graduate at 14 or 15 on average, not 12 to 13, and they start later as well, with the average student going through 12 semesters, aka 6 years. This story takes place after the Naruto's first year at the academy. He is the age of Rock Lee and Hyūga Neji, but he entered the academy a year after them. Both the first and second year students are taught certain lessons together, as Naruto's year is the first to implement the new curriculum. (So in this first chapter Naruto and Lee are 10). The rest of the changes will come, but some won't be mentioned in an Author's Note unless you all ask me though. Certain characters will be changed drastically as compared to their canon counterparts, others not as much. One of the major changes is mentioned in this chapter, and I'd love some commentary via review or PM about your thoughts and opinions of how it was presented. This is my first attempt at writing a real story, and I am no English major, so constructive criticism is more than welcome. I hope you enjoy!

"Blah" _ Talking

" _Blah"_ -Thinking

" **Blah"** \- Jutsu/ Demon Speak

" _ **Blah"**_ \- Demon thoughts

"Blah" – Monikers (i.e. Sharingan no Kakashi)

~~~Council Chambers~~~

"Why have you called us all here, Hiruzen?" With an annoyed edge in her voice, Koharu sat beside her fellow elders Homura and Danzo, while the Clan Heads and Civilian Council also sat in their respective areas, all wondering the same sort of thing.

"Thank you for asking my esteemed advisor. This meeting was called in order to inform you all of a change in how our Shinobi Academy shall be ran, as well as how I have decided that the curriculum will be changed. These changes are not up to vote; however, if anyone has an idea that would add onto my already decided changes, those may be mentioned. Clear?!" With the hardened edge in his voice, many saw it fit to simply nod.

However, one of the more obnoxious and insolent civilians stood in outrage. "Sir you can't do that! As a village run by a council, decisions like this must be vot-"

"Sit Down and Shut UP!" With a slight bit of his K.I. directed towards that man, Hiruzen smiled, with anger still evident in his eyes. "Yes I can. For you see, this village is a military village, and the leader of the military is ME! I allow the councils to be my advisors, but you civilians came up with the plan that is the reason the changes are being made. For you see, after the Kyuubi attack on the village, you all brought up a plan to make the academy easier, and therefore allow us to bolster our force's numbers. And I have decided to stop that. Under that curriculum, graduating genin class numbers did improve, but only by a marginal 15 percent. However, genin casualty and fatality rates increased by 40 percent. And of the other 60 percent, only 2/3rds made it to Chuunin, with the rest dropping out of the active shinobi program eventually. Some still work in places like the Cryptogram Department, the Cypher Division, or even the Academy. But this plan is actually causing my forces to weaken. And I am done with it. So henceforth, the Academy will be teaching the curriculum it was prior to that decision. The first 3 years will be more focused on science, math, and general education, as well as the basics of Chakra, conditioning, and Taijutsu. After year 3, things will shift to more active physical training, as well as some more specified classes in the Shinobi Arts. In year 6, the classes will run some mock missions and D-Ranks, forcing them to learn to work as teams with anyone in their class. This allows me to get a better idea for team placements. Now, any **smart** questions?"

Taking the silence as a no, Hiruzen smirked. "So with that, Meeting Adjourned. Any questions you have must be presented personally at a later date." And with that, Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure stood and left a gaping council behind him.

" _Hell yeah he's back!"_ Inuzuka Tsume chuckled to herself, and Nara Shikaku smiled as well.

~~~~Summer break in between semesters at the Academy, almost 11 years after the Kyuubi Attack~~~~ ~~~~14 months after the Council Meeting above~~~~

"Come on Naruto, hurry up!" Laughing as he ran, Rock Lee pushes off the ground to jump and run along the roofs of the buildings lining the main road in Konohagakure's Market District.

"So that's how it is, huh Lee?!" Growling in response, Naruto pumps some chakra into his legs and shoots off the ground, jumping over 15 feet into the air before landing right beside Lee, sprinting just as swiftly as his training partner/ Co-Dead Last.

Cackling madly, Naruto blasts past Lee, shooting over the buildings into the trees around the training grounds before landing on the outskirts of Training Ground 3, Lee landing beside him seconds later. "Hahaha! I win Lee! Lunch is on you today!"

"So it seems my friend. So it seems…" Sighing dramatically, Lee rakes his fingers through his unkempt hair. (His hair is like it is when he first joined Team Gai, if a bit longer) "So, what shall we do first? Train on the logs? Read some of these absolutely legally acquired scrolls? Spar? Don't leave me hanging man! I am super pumped!" Hopping up and down slightly, Lee starts stretching his arms a bit to warm up.

"I was told by Khana-sensei to work on making my taijutsu more refined, not like the brawler-esque style it is now… Which sucks because I have no idea of a fighting style I could learn or how to refine my already existing style!" Complaining as he was, Naruto misses the faint smirk on Lee's face.

"Why, my dearest comrade! I have some scrolls on a few taijutsu styles, and I think I know which one, or ones you can learn!" Lee darted over to his knap sack, which he had dropped when he entered the clearing. "Ah-hah! Found it!" He throws one to Naruto. "Check it out man!"

"Oh what the hell…." Naruto dramatically sighs and then grabs and opens the scroll. "Uh… Lee? There are 3 fighting styles! And…DANCING?!"

"Yeah, and?" Lee smirked.

"I only need 1 style!" Naruto starts to read the descriptions of the styles. "Gokken? Akai Ashi? Breakdancing? Hyō Ken? (1) What is up with all these styles Lee?"

"So my friend, listen and understand: Strong Fist is aggressive and direct, but lacks much precision. It is also the only of these styles I use. Red Leg is also somewhat aggressive, but it is extremely precise, and quick, but is well fed with raw power and it has a solid defense, but uses only kicks to attack, which means you need the leg strength that can be acquired through training in Strong Fist and the flexibility gained from breakdancing. Breakdancing is not a fighting style in and of itself, but it can be used to bolster the power, flexibility, and unpredictability of the actual fighting styles. Leopard Style is much faster, and can deal massive damage quickly with surprise attacks which target soft areas on the opponent's body with precise strikes, but lacks the raw power to finish an opponent off if the quick powerful initial attack misses or is blocked… And luckily for you, Strong Fist and Red Leg have the pure aggressive force to cover that weakness of the Leopard Style. As such, training in all of these styles will allow you to not only create a unique style, but also to cover the weaknesses each of these styles has alone." Lee beams wholeheartedly, the already bright sunlight reflecting off his teeth. Pointing a small stick at a blackboard with some random gibberish on it that came out of nowhere, a graduation hat sitting tilted on his head, Lee cackles at the confused look on Naruto's face. "Any questions, my pupil?" And as quickly as it appeared, all the things disappeared like magic.

"What? The? Hell!?" Naruto stands, glaring at his friend, before looking down at the scroll in awe. "With these styles, I could become Hokage so much faster! Let's get started!" And with that, Naruto sat down and began studying the basics of the Strong Fist.

Sweat dropping majorly, Lee laughs nervously before pulling out his own scroll on the Strong Fist. He had found it sitting on his doorstep the day before and was thinking that he might as well look at it and see if he liked it, as it let him work with his friend.

~~~~~~~~ 3 Weeks Later~~~~~~~~

"Damnit Lee, what are you doing!?" Naruto had just finished his studying of the basics of Leopard Style, having already studied and practiced the basic movements of breakdancing and katas for the other 2.

"I am doing what it looks like I am doing Naruto! Running!" Lee pants out as he ran another lap around the large clearing they were in.

"Well, stop runnin' so close to me, I need to concentrate!" Having stood up and relieved himself of his jumpsuit's top half, Naruto began clenching and unclenching his fingers, practicing putting his hands in the basic Leopard Style hand position, where one made a fist, then uncurled only the knuckle joint that one punches with, so that practitioners can strike with the second knuckle to deal massive damage to soft spots and joints on an enemy, dealing the precise damage Leopard Style was known for. "Prick..." Smirking good naturedly, Naruto began slowly running through the 3 basic katas of the style.

"Of course friend!" Laughing, Lee stumbled through his last few laps, before coming to a crashing halt when he collapsed in the shade by his friend, luckily not hitting his head on the nearby tree roots.

"Serves ya right for overstraining yourself Lee!" Naruto began practicing the basic Leopard Style combinations, occasionally throwing in a combination from his other 3 styles just to mix it up.

Slowly sitting up, Lee winces as he sits against the tree he fell under, panting as he did. "Naruto, you may just be right…. *pant* I shouldn't overstrain myself… I just need to practice enough that my limits are broken and *pant* new ones are formed at higher levels…. And then break those!" And then he fell back down. "Well… once I can sit up that is…"

Pausing his workout, Naruto looks over at Lee with inquisitive eyes. "Lee, I have a question for ya' 'bout something that has been botherin' me for a while."

"What" *pant* might that be friend?" Slowly regaining control of his breathing, Lee finally sits up and leans against the nearest tree.

"Why don't you train with your ninjutsu and chakra stuff?" Squatting down, Naruto became level with his training partner, staring at him intently. Lee froze, before a somber look fell across his face.

"I… I can't use chakra properly… That's why…."

"But we all unlocked our chakra early this last semester, and Daikoku-sensei even checked everyone and I remember he was shocked because you took a long time, but once you got it unlocked he said he felt a lot of chakra from you, remember?" Naruto, having fallen down in shock at such a revelation, clambered back up onto his feet. "Com'on man, I gotta idea on what ta' do!" Pulling Lee up by his arm, Naruto turns towards the main village, and starts running. Hearing no steps from behind him, he turns and sees Lee slowly picking up the scrolls and other things strewn about the training ground. "Oh… right" Rubbing his head in embarrassment, the loudmouthed prankster helps finish up, and then took his things from his partner.

"What are you talking about Naruto? I don't know how we could fix this…"

"That's why we's gonna go talk to someone who might! Last one to the Hokage Tower is the true Dobe!" Naruto shot off towards the Tower, with Lee's head snapping up at the mention of the challenge before he too blasts out of the training ground. With his recently gained speed from training in the Strong Fist, he quickly passes up Naruto, before slowing down so they ran side by side. While both were faster than anyone else in their class by a large margin, anyone who was trained as a shinobi saw them, as both were only a bit faster than the average genin by this point.

~~~~~~~The Hokage's Tower~~~~~~

"DAMNIT YOU BRATS I SAID HE WA- Oh! Hokage-sama, is there a problem?" The now beet red secretary glares heatedly at the two so called 'brats'.

Sarutobi merely smiles warmly. "Well, you were making such a racket, so I simply deemed it necessary to investigate, and to my surprise, and also anger," he pauses, glaring at the woman, "that my secretary was yelling at two of my favorite orphans. Come on in you two." He waves them on, into his office, leveling a harsh glare at the lady, before turning sharply and shutting his office doors.

"Naruto-kun! Lee-kun! What a surprise! So, what are you both here for today?"

With a little prompting from Naruto, Lee shuffles forward. "Sorry to bother you Hokage-sama… but uh… I have a problem…"

"How can I help then?" Smiling, the Sandaime chuckles. "I am not known worldwide as "The Professor" for being dumb after all."

"I… can't use chakra properly and I don't know why." Having lost some of his nervousness, Lee stands up straighter. "Naruto here convinced me that you might be able to help…"

"I see…. Well, that might be a problem for a shinobi. So, you have unlocked your chakra, correct?"

"Yes Hokage-sama. Our sensei at the academy confirmed it, saying that I actually had quite a bit of it for someone our age."

"Alright then. Please call upon your chakra, I am assuming that you know how to do that."

"Of course Hokage-sama." Delving deep within himself, Lee calls upon his chakra, grimacing as he felt it try and expand, yet get trapped within him. "See, I can call it… but when I try to push it outside my body, it seems to get stuck, creating a buildup of it within me."

Resting his hands on his large desk (which was covered with extremely obscene amounts of paperwork), Sarutobi Hiruzen, the well-known Professor, was stumped. He had felt the boy call upon his chakra, and saw no things that would cause Lee the problem he was having. "Lee, Naruto, I believe I know someone who may be able to tell us what the origin of your problem is." Having finished his statement, he nods over to one corner of his office. "Inu, please notify Tori that her presence is requested in my office immediately."

Appearing out of thin air, a man in a dog mask with spiky silver hair shooting up all over his head nods. "Hai, Hokage-sama!" Disappearing in a **Kerumi-Shunshin (1)** , a new person, with long blue hair and a bird mask on appeared in the same manner mere seconds later, bowing to the Sandaime. "I was summoned, sir?"

"Tori, take off your mask, I want these two to meet you."

Bowing again, Tori reaches up and plucks her mask off her face, clipping it to her belt. She turns to the two adolescents she had barely registered earlier, and smiles. "Hello you two. I am Hyūga Natsu. It's a pleasure to meet you!"

"Natsu-chan, please observe Lee's chakra system while he channels his chakra. He is seemingly unable to release it from his coils. Lee, again."

Both respond with a "Hai!" before doing as instructed, with Natsu quickly, without sound or hand signs, activating her bloodline. "Oh kami… what is th- STOP LEE-KUN!" Having activated her Byakugan on command, she had glanced over at Lee before nearly screaming. "H-Hokage-sama… I know what his problem is." Turning to her commander, a somber look falls onto her face. "Unless we do something, Lee will never be able to become a shinobi."

"What is the problem then? I would rather like to know how to allow one of the Academy's most promising fighters to become one of our most promising genin."

"He… well sir… He has no tenketsu. Anywhere. He has a very strong chakra circulatory system, and even has a very large amount of chakra for his age. But unless tenketsu are either forced to open for him, or he finds a way to otherwise channel his chakra out of him, he will never be a shinobi. His Eight Gates are all missing as well." Having delivered her somber news, she turns and hugs Lee. "I… I am so sorry you had to hear that…"

Sighing, Hiruzen levels a look at Natsu. "And pray the mighty log tell, how does the Hyūga clan fight?"

"By forcing our opponents tenketsu clos-…" Natsu turns toward Lee, beaming. "I can fix this. But it will hurt. And take time to do." Turning, she looks at her commander. "Sir, I assume you already know what I am planning to do?"

"Well my dear, if you are intending to artificially rip tenketsu' into Lee's system, then yes. I would like you to take Lee to the hospital, and when Naruto and I arrive, I want to see you drawing a mock chakra circulatory map on his body, and then I am expecting you to report this anomaly to myself and Jiho-san, the head of the medical system here. I want to see if we can figure out what caused this improper development. Clear?"

"Crystal, Hokage-sama! Come with me Lee!"

~~~~~2 weeks later~~~~~~

"Well Lee, it's our first day of the next year of the Ninja Academy from Hell! You ready?" Naruto, now clad in his jumpsuit pants and a gray shirt, with some old combat wrappings he had found out at he and Lee's training spot wrapped tightly around his hands, smiles.

Hobbling over, Lee, now clad in some gray pants and a green shirt. "Moving at all still hurts asshole, gimme a minute!" Lee hobbles over on some crutches. "The Doc' nearly didn't let me go until I promised I'd take it easy and use crutches for a few days, and with this note from the hospital, I can't be counted late… You can though!"

"Damnit, you jerk!" With that, Naruto sprints off, hurrying towards the Academy. Somehow making it into class right before the bell, Naruto enters through the door near the back of the classroom, and sits in the nearest seat, panting quietly. Somehow, the only people to notice his appearance were one Aburame Shino, and Naruto's frequent stalk- I mean, observer, Hyūga Hinata, now blushing slightly at the sight of her crush.

" _Lee told me to be a bit aware of y surroundings, and to not let them be aware of me, and I think I have an idea of how I can do it…"._ With his inner dialogue trailing off, Naruto closed his eyes before focusing his efforts into listening to everything around him, picking up the sounds of the multiple students chattering, the shuffling of papers on Daikoku-sensei's desk, and the pounding of what sounded to him like a herd of hungry Akimichi clan members. _"Oh shittttttt!"._

*SLAM* "Hahahaha I was in first Ami!" And with a screech that left one Inuzuka Kiba with bleeding ears, the pink haired wonder harpy Haruno Sakura arrives on the scene.

"Your forehead must be obscuring your vision, Sakura! My toes were obviously 1/16th of an inch in front of yours!" Cackling madly about how true love always won in the end, both she and her fellow wonder harpy missed the sight of Naruto cringing at them. _"And to think I liked Sakura… Damn Lee was right; I really did have low standards."._ And they also missed the annoyed glare the object of their affections, one Uchiha Sasuke, as well as the exasperated sighs of one Yamanaka Ino.

" _Damnit Sakura! And you to Ami! Act like damn kunoichi, not little girls!"_ After her father had heard of her own disturbingly similar actions during her first year, he spent the entire break working with Ino so she understood what being a kunoichi was actually about, and she was now appalled at the actions of her two classmates. "Sakura. Ami. Sit down and shut up, class was ready to begin when you loudly barged in here." Nodding crisply, she turned to look at Daikoku-sensei, her father's teachings firmly ingrained in her mind. However, she missed the shocked looks on almost everyone else's face, with many wondering who this new Ino truly was.

" _Hn. Finally, one left the herd."_ Sasuke nodded to her, even though she couldn't see it.

" _Ino also must have trained hard over the break, just like Lee and I! Maybe after everyone gets over the shock of Ino's change, I can show the how I changed as well!"_ And with a smile that nearly split his face, Naruto sat up, ready to begin his first day as a new shinobi!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Within Naruto's Mindscape~~~~~~~~~~

" **Well now…. This may be interesting…"** And with that, a large blood red eye, with a slit pupil… _**Opened.**_

~~~~~~~~~~End~~~~~~~~~~

K **erumi-Shunshin** – Smoke Shunshin.

Gokken is the Strong Fist, Gai and Lee's canon fighting style.

Akai Ashi is the Red Leg style, which is Sanji's style from One Piece, but under the name of Sanji's teacher, Red Leg Zeff.

Hyō Ken is Leopard Fist, which is what I am calling this my Naruverse's version of Leopard Style Kung Fu

This is my first attempt at a real published story, so any commentary that will help me get better is greatly appreciated

Blood Out!


	3. School Is Hard Man

**I don't own Naruto. Sadly.**

"Blah" _ Talking

" _Blah"_ -Thinking

" **Blah"** \- Jutsu/ Demon Speak

"Blah" – Monikers (i.e. Sharingan no Kakashi)

~~~~~~~2 weeks into Naruto and Co.'s second year of the academy~~~~~~~~~~

"Alright class, today is the day I know you all have been waiting for! It's time for us to go outside and work on Taijutsu. So, who all either is working on their own style, or is otherwise not in need of learning the Academy Style?"

Naruto's hand shot up at Daikoku-sensei's question, along with the hands of Uchiha Sasuke, Inuzuka Kiba, Hyūga Hinata, and Yamanaka Ino.

With what seemed like an impressed whistle, Daikoku-sensei counted their hands, and then instructing everyone else to follow Kana-sensei outside where they could begin working on the advanced katas of the Academy style. "Alright you all, would you all please tell me what style you all are learning?"

"I-I am learning m-my clan's t-taijutsu style s-s-sir." Hyūga Hinata blushed after her unexpectedly loud words, and attempted to hide in her oversized hoodie.

"I am learning my clan's fighting style as well! It's wicked!" Inuzuka Kiba, the brash loudmouth that he is, so arrogantly proclaimed.

"Thank you Hinata, and thanks to you as well Kiba. What about you two?" Daikoku-sensei wrote a few notes down about the first two answers, then pointed at Sasuke, and then Ino.

"I too am learning my clan's Geigeki-ken (1) sir. While I cannot use it to its full potential until I unlock my Sharingan, I should still be able to use it quite efficiently once I learn more from my father and brother." Sasuke politely responded before looking out the window, staring off into the distance.

"My father is teaching me his own personalized style, and says that he can come talk to you all if you have questions." Ino smiled at Daikoku-sensei, and he nodded.

"Thank you for informing me of his words, as I would like some knowledge of what this is like, as I have never seen anything about his own style, and Sasuke, thank you for informing me about the limitations of your style at the moment. And last but not least. Naruto, what are you doing regarding a true fighting style, as I understand you were not among these few students last year?"

"Over the break, I began working on somewhat of a unique style. I got the scrolls for the Gokken, Akai Ashi, and the Hyō Ken, and while I am still a novice in them, I have begun to create a successful combination style that at the moment has no name. I hope to eventually master each of these styles separately, as well as in combination with the other 2. So far I am very proud of my work so far! If you need a demonstration of what I am trying to explain, I am willing to fight in a demonstration match."

"Well Naruto, color me surprised. I never expected that out of you. I would like to see this new style of yours in a demonstration match. While I don't have much experience in two of the three styles you just named, I do know a bit of how the Strong Fist style works, and I am quite honestly excited to see how this style of yours works. All of you will spar me today, ok? And with that, how about you five come with me, and we will go down to the sparring ring to see how you all work. Well? Let's go!" And with a boisterous laugh, Daikoku-sensei whisked the 5 out the door of the class, and they walked on out to the practice courtyard.

~~~~~~On the practice courtyard, by the sparring ring~~~~~~

"Alright students, what we are going to do is have a short sparring match. You all are going to spar with me 1 on 1, and I am going to fight back at roughly the level of a recently graduated Genin who was in the middle of his class, and I will use the Academy style. You all are going to try and knock me out of the ring, and I will try to do the same to you while I also observe your styles for openings, weaknesses and its strengths. Also, if you all have any observations about your classmate's styles that seem important please feel free to bring them up in the discussion." Having finished his spiel, Daikoku-sensei smiles. "Alright, who wants to go first?"

"Me and Akamaru got this Sensei!" Laughing arrogantly, Kiba swaggered into the ring, and settled into his stance, with his legs spread wide and low to the ground and one hand on the ground, his other in a claw by his face. Akamaru then jumps up onto his back with his hackles raised and his small fangs bared. "Let's Go!"

Laughing at Kiba's antics, Daikoku-sensei walked into the ring as well, and settles into his stance, much more upright than Kiba's, with his legs slightly bent and his hands up to protect his torso, throat, and face. "Ready, Set, Hajime!"

As soon as the Inuzuka pair hear those few words, they blast into action. Moving at speeds much higher than most Academy students in general, especially a second year one, Kiba blurs towards Daikoku-sensei from his right flank, while Akamaru does the same from the left.

Before Kiba and Akamaru reach their target, Daikoku-sensei moves to intercept Kiba, Dismissing Akamaru as the least concerning of the two, Daikoku-sensei leads with an upwards kick towards Kiba's face, which was so low to the ground that he had to jump back to avoid it, thus leaving him open to Daikoku-sensei's next move, a right hand punch headed towards Kiba's open torso.

Growling in annoyance, Kiba blocks the punch with his left hand, and then latches onto Daikoku-sensei's arm, pulling him in to a brutal knee to the stomach, just as Akamaru savagely smashes into the back of his knee, leading to him falling to the ground.

Before Kiba and Akamaru can continue their assault, Daikoku-sensei jumps up to his feet, knocking Akamaru away as well. Using his free hand, as Kiba still had a hold of his other, he sends a swift strike towards Kiba's throat, forcing him to let go and back away.

"Alright you two, I think I have seen enough for the day. Relax." Dropping his hands to his sides, Daikoku-sensei smiled warmly. "I must say Kiba, you pack quite the punch in those strikes of yours, and Akamaru does as well."

Yipping happily, Akamaru jumps up onto Kiba's shoulder then up onto his head. Arrogantly laughing, Kiba places his hands on his hips. "So, wasn't that great?"

Laughing lightly again, Daikoku-sensei nods. "I will say, you are very fast for an Academy Student, nearly faster than some recently graduated genin that I taught. Your style is extremely fast and brutal, as expected of an Inuzuka. You and Akamaru work well together, and can read each other and coordinate your movements very well on the fly."

"Well of course! We are the best!"

"Kiba, I wasn't finished. Despite all of the positive aspects of your style, the biggest flaw I noticed was its glaring lack of defense on your part. While you may have blocked my punch, that was only due to your quick reflexes, and doing so actually opened your stance up even more. While your fast reflexes and overall strength and speed do mitigate this problem, it is by no means a proper solution. Had you been fighting an enemy that matches or exceeds your speed and reflexes, and is actually trying to kill you, I wouldn't put my money on you living. While you are indeed a good fighter, I would see if you could get your mother, your sister, or even other more advanced clansmen to help you with that. But as a whole, good job."

"Oh. Uh… Thanks for the info Sensei. I will get to work on that!" Laughing nervously, Kiba started to shuffle back to the others before he got interrupted

"Wait a sec Dog Breath, we have some comments as well!"

"Damnit Naruto, that is not my name!" Yelling in anger, Kiba storms over towards Naruto before a large hand pressing on his shoulder stops him.

"Calm down Kiba. It was a friendly jest and you know it. Naruto, stop antagonizing everyone. It hasn't even been a month yet, you keep this up and no one will like you at all. Now, what were you saying about comments?"

"Yes Daikoku-sensei… And what I was going to mention was that one thing Kiba and Akamaru could work on is using the other one's size as a weapon against their opponent. For now, Akamaru being so small could be used as a hidden attacker, or he could be used in a more offensive way, such as what you two did in this match, with him going low to assault the legs, or even incapacitate them by biting the tendons or joints on your opponents while you go in up high, with attacks like throat strikes and high kicks, thus allowing Akamaru to get forgotten until it is too late. While what you two did worked, I think these ideas are just a bit more in depth for you."

After a few seconds of silence, Naruto looked around at everyone, who, besides Sasuke, all looked shocked. "What? Were my observations wrong?"

Shaking herself out of her momentary stupor, Ino just sighed. "No Naruto. I think everyone was surprised at how in depth they were. You didn't paint yourself as the sharpest kunai in the pouch as of last year's exams. And you haven't talked much so far this year, so we haven't gotten to see how much you have changed yet"

Pouting glumly, Naruto looked over towards Daikoku-sensei "I wasn't that bad was I?"

Getting no response at all, Naruto just sighed. "Fine."

"Thanks a lot Naruto, those ideas sound great, we will take them into consideration!" Kiba then walked over towards nauto, and extended a fist. "We cool?"

Smiling in response, Naruto returned the gesture by bumping his fist against Kiba's. "Yeah, we cool."

"Alright kids, any other comments for Kiba?" After seeing all of the others shake their heads, Daikoku-sensei then nodded towards Hinata. "You are up Hinata. As a rule for most school sparring matches, you are only allowed to use chakra to activate your Byakugan. You cannot use chakra when actually fighting, understood?"

After a hesitant nod from the shy girl, he walked back over towards the middle of the ring, and motioned for her to follow. "Ready?"

"H-hai Sensei." Before slowly slipping into her clan's well known stance, Hinata holds up the ram seal, and the other students hear her small voice say " **Byakugan!"** then her hands moved into the basic Jūken stance, then she nodded toward her sensei. "Ready Sensei."

"Alright then. Ready, Set, Hajime!"

Having completed his statement, Daikoku-sensei lauches forward with a forward punch, his other held up close to his hand to guard himself.

In response, Hinata stepped to the outside of the punch, and like a viper, her left hand strikes out and hits Daikoku-sensei's arm, knocking it off course, leading him to get knocked off balance with a grimace.

After a few more clashes like this, with Hinata either blocking Daikoku-sensei's strikes and countering them, or avoiding them and countering, Daikoku-sensei changed his stratagey, jumping to Hinata's right flank, lashing out with a blisteringly fast roundhouse kick, catching Hinata in the stomach and knocking her backwards out of the ring.

Sighing in defeat, Hinata dropped her stance. "G-good fight Sensei."

Nodding towards her, Daikoku-sensei smiled. "Good work Hinata. Your Taijutsu is as dangerous as it is made out to be. Had you been allowed to use the full range of your clan's style, you would have been able to win this match after only 1 or 2 engagements."

"Y-you re-really think so S-Sensei?" A blush on her face, Hinata looked up towards Sensei with wide eyes.

"Yes Hinata, I do. However, there is one thing you seem to struggle with, and that is pressing an attack once you have an opening. Every time you countered my strikes, you only responded with a few strikes to my limbs and nerve points, and then you backed off without landing a definitive finishing blow. You also need to work on your overall reaction speed, for if it was faster, you could have blocked or otherwise mitigated to damage from that last kick of mine. That all make sense Hinata?"

"Y-yes Sensei, th-thank you…" Sighing softly, Hinata shuffled back to the rest of the students before she heard a voice.

"Cheer up Hinata-chan! You did great out there!" With a wide smile, Naruto waved at her, causing her to blush harder and nearly faint.

"Th-Thank you Naruto-kun…"

Interrupting what Naruto was about to say, Daikou-sensei asked for the next student to join him in the ring, to which Ino confidently walked up and slid into a very similar stance to Daikoku-sensei's own, just with a wider, lower stance and a slightly wider guard. "No need to ask if I am ready Sensei, because I am!"

Boisterously laughing at her enthusiasm, Sensei dropped back into his own stance, and nodded. "Alright then. Ready, Set, Hajime!"

Rather than letting Sensei make the first move, Ino darted towards the larger man, still very low to the ground, lashing out with a straight punch towards Sensei's thigh.

Jumping to the side to avoid the strike, Sensei then darts towards Ino's open flank with his hand extended like a spear, seeing what appeared to be an opening from an over extended punch.

Rather than block however, Ino drops and using her forward momentum, rolls away then jumps to her feet, smiling.

Nodding slightly to himself, Sensei then turns on his heel, shooing out a turning straight heel kick.

Jumping into his guard, knocking the kick away with her hi, Ino launches a brutally close elbow into Daikoku-sensei's sternum, then twists her hips to send another one with her other arm into his exposed kidney, before jumping away again, turning to face him.

Slightly wheezing from the strikes, Sensei blasts forward with a jumping front kick aimed towards Ino's face.

Dropping even lower than normal, Ino lets the kick go over her, before she uppercutted the inside of Sensei's thigh, and then rolls out from underneath him, jumping up to her feet again.

"Alight Ino, that's enough for now. Good job." Still wheezing a bit, Sensei smiled and nodded at her, so she dropped her stance and returned to a normal pose. "Color me impressed Ino, I was not expecting such speed and power from such a small person. Those strikes may lack the brutal strength Kiba had, or the immense finesse that Hinata did, but your strength lies in between those 2. You have very technical strikes aimed for weak points on the body, but rather than shutting them down like the Jyūken does, you use them to cause pain more like Kiba. Very good. However, it is not perfect, and I would still like to talk to your father about this style."

"Of course Sensei, I'll tell Daddy when I get home, so you two can set up a meeting or something."

Smiling happily with herself, Ino shuffles towards the rest of the students, getting an appraising look from Sasuke, and a serious nod from Naruto. "Good work Ino."

Smiling lightly at his praise, Ino responded, "And may you do the same Naruto."

Naruto laughed boisterously, yet rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "That's the plan!"

Sasuke looked over towards Naruto, and Naruto looked back, before he nodded slowly, then Sasuke nodded back before walking out to the ring. With a proud smirk on his face, Sasuke looked the part of the arrogant overconfident rookie to a T. _"I guess it's time to show these posers why I am already considered the main prospect for rookie of the year!"_ Finally reaching the ring with his thought completed, Sasuke loosened his arms and legs up a bit, and the sunk into his stance.

Sighing softly, Naruto started to think about his own match and what could happen, as well as how to start off without showing all his tricks on the first match. _"Don't show off much teme, I still need to go as well, and I don't want to have to one up you just yet!"_ Smirking to himself, Naruto began to stretch his legs a bit, limbering hmself up before his own match.

~~Until Next Time~~

Geigeki-ken is what I am calling the Uchiha Clan's taijutsu style. This translates as Interceptor Fist, which to me sounds like a great name for a style that revolves around reading your opponents moves, and intercepting or countering them.

A.N. time: Hello any readers I may have, be you returning ones or new ones I pick up! Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and if you want some questions answered, feel free to PM me about them.

I'M BACK BITCHESSSS! MAY THE LOG BLESS YOUR SOUL AND FACE! PLEASE REVIEW WITH CONSTRUCTIVE CRITISCISM! AND SEE YOU LATER!

Blood out!


End file.
